On the agenda: Sevierville Minutes — ALPR (Sep 21)

Sevier County Board of Commissioners
Regular Called Meeting
September 21, 2026 at 6:00 P.M.
I.

CALL TO ORDER
Chairman McCarter called the meeting to order at 6:02 P.M.

II.

ROLL CALL
Quorum Present (25 Present, 1 Absent)
Present: Mayor Bryan McCarter, Bryan Delius, Scott Catlett, Mike
Chambers, Gary Cole, Aaron Foster, Brandon Headrick, Dale Hill, Mike
Hillard, Todd Humble, Warren Hurst, Andy Jackson, Steve Leo, Michael
Maddron, Don McGill, Ray Ogle, Jack Parton, Harold Pitner, Tommy Watts,
Dustin Weaver, Marcus Whaley, Ronnie Whaley, Kent Woods, Rick
Valentine, Zachary Boling
Absent: Greg Haggard

III.

GENERAL CONSENT CALENDAR
a. Setting of the Agenda
b. Minutes of the Commission: September 1, 2026
c. Notaries to be Elected
d. Receiving of Orders and Reports
i. Mayoral Order 2026-09-01 (Informational)
ii. Board of Zoning Appeals: September 8, 2026
iii. Regional Planning Commission: September 8, 2026
iv. Steering Committee: September 10, 2026
v. Steering Committee: September 14, 2026
e. Proclamations
Motion was made by R. Valentine, and duly Seconded by M. Maddron.
Vote criteria of Majority Vote of Members Present.
Passed by Voice Call Vote 24 Yes, 0 No, 1 Absent.

IV.

BUDGET CONSENT CALENDAR
No items were presented
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V.

SPECIAL RECOGNITIONS AND MEMORIALS
Chairman McCarter presented Ronnie Allen’s wife and family members the
proclamation that was approved during the August 17, 2026 commission
meeting.
Commissioner Parton spoke to the family stating that Mr. Allen was a very
good friend and a good man who done a lot for this community.
Mrs. Lynn Allen thanked the community and the board for their kind words.
Chairman McCarter presented a proclamation to Leon Downey that was
approved during the August 17, 2026 commission meeting.
Mr. Downey thanked the board and the cities for all the worked that had
been done together to help grow the tourism industry.

VI.

PUBLIC COMMENT ON AGENDA ITEMS
No requests were made.

VII.

PUBLIC HEARING
a. Consideration of Resolution 2026-09-07: Amend the Zoning
Resolution for Sevier County, Tennessee by rezoning Tax Map 124H
Group A Parcel 5.00 from A-1, Agricultural District to C-1, Rural
Commercial District.
b. Consideration of Resolution 2026-09-08: Amend the Zoning
Resolution for Sevier County, Tennessee by rezoning Tax Map 45G
Group A Parcel 41.00 from R-1, Rural Residential District to C-1,
Rural Commercial District.
No requests were made.

VIII.

ELECTIONS, APPOINTMENTS, AND CONFIRMATIONS
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a. Consideration of Resolution 2026-09-04: Appoint Mayor Bryan
McCarter to Sevier Solid Waste, Inc. Board
Chairman McCarter made note of reference this appointment concerns
the city county meetings, this is the only board that does not have the
county mayor specifically titled as an ex officio member, it is an
appointment from the county commission of which the county mayor
has typically served.
Motion was made by R. Ogle, and duly Seconded by M. Hillard.
Vote criteria of Majority Vote of Members Present.
Passed by Voice Call Vote 24 Yes, 0 No, 1 Absent.
b. Consideration of Resolution 2026-09-05: Confirm the Appointments
of Sevier County Government Department Heads
Motion was made by G. Cole, and duly Seconded by B. Headrick.
Vote criteria of Majority Vote of Members Present.
Passed by Voice Call Vote 23 Yes, 0 No, 1 Abstain (Valentine) 1
Absent.
c. Consideration of Resolution 2026-09-06: Confirm the Appointment of
Commissioners to Committees of the Sevier County Board of
Commissioners
Motion was made by M. Maddron, and duly Seconded by A. Jackson.
Vote criteria of Majority Vote of Members Present.
Passed by Voice Call Vote 24 Yes, 0 No, 1 Absent.
IX.

UNFINISHED BUSINESS
No unfinished business was presented

X.

NEW BUSINESS
a. Consideration of Resolution 2026-09-07: Amend the Zoning
Resolution for Sevier County, Tennessee by rezoning Tax Map 124H
Group A Parcel 5.00 from A-1, Agricultural District to C-1, Rural
Commercial District.
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Motion was made by H. Pitner, and duly Seconded by B. Delius.
Vote criteria of 2/3 of Full Membership.
Passed by Voice Call Vote 24 Yes, 0 No, 1 Absent.
b. Consideration of Resolution 2026-09-08: Amend the Zoning
Resolution for Sevier County, Tennessee by rezoning Tax Map 45G
Group A Parcel 41.00 from R-1, Rural Residential District to C-1,
Rural Commercial District.
Motion was made by D. Weaver, and duly Seconded by H. Pitner.
Vote criteria of 2/3 of Full Membership.
Passed by Voice Call Vote 24 Yes, 0 No, 1 Absent.
c. Consideration of Resolution 2026-09-09: Change the Rules
Regulating the Procedure of the Sevier County Board of
Commissioners
Motion was made by R. Valentine, and duly Seconded by M.
Chambers.
Vote criteria of Majority Vote of Members Present.
Passed by Voice Call Vote 24 Yes, 0 No, 1 Absent.
d. Consideration of Resolution 2026-09-10: Establish the Regular
Meeting Days, Times, and Locations for the Standing Committees of
the Sevier County Board of Commissioners
Motion was made by R. Ogle, and duly Seconded by S. Leo.
Vote criteria of Majority Vote of Members Present.
Passed by Voice Call Vote 24 Yes, 0 No, 1 Absent.
XI.

OTHER BUSINESS
No comments of other business

XII.

PUBLIC COMMENT ON NON-AGENDA ITEMS
a. Meredith Saffelder – Resident of District 11 spoke out against the
County’s use of ALPR Technology and its continued contracts with
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Flack Safety. Expressed most law enforcement agencies have
embraced Flock and other private surveillance companies’ technology
to prevent, halt, solve, and prosecute violent crime. Citing that data
provided by haveibeenflocked.com, a flock safety data tracking
website, that majority of searches nationwide are for non-violent
offenses related to property. Stated that she is not here to argue that
this product is not saving lives or stopping pedophiles, but that the
data does not show this in the statistics. Citied that the Sevier County
Sheriff’s Office has to date ran over 71,000 (seventy-one thousand)
nationwide searches in the flock networks accessible to them. Out of
the 9,459 (nine thousand four hundred and fifty-nine) reasons
provided, violent crimes accounted for only 11% (eleven percent), and
sex offenses accounted for less than 2% (two percent). The top 3
(three) reasons entered were persons of interest, drug and alcohol
offenses, and property crimes. With regards to actual crime reduction,
the tbi.gov statistics reported by Sevier County Sheriff’s Office shows
that the only crime that has steadily decreased after the integration of
Flock Safety’s products is motor vehicle theft. Expressed that she is
not asking for the immediate removal of these cameras, asked that
there be more transparency with the public on the costs, type of
contract and user agreements that have been entered with Flock, the
locations of all leased cameras, the length of data, length of time the
data is stored, and which entities our law enforcement agencies have
permitted access to this data. If there are already policies in place that
explicitly describe how this technology is being uses, the limitations
placed on who can access it and how this information should be used,
it should be publicly available. Urges county leadership to consider
that Flock related lawsuits are springing up all over the country due to
instance of misuse, misidentification, and false arrest. Stated that she
admits that she admires Sheriff Hodges and his passion for protecting
and serving our county. Has no doubts about his integrity or the
integrity of the process by which our law enforcement officers are
vetted and selected, does doubt the intentions of companies like Flock
who are profiting from the data they are unconstitutionally acquiring
on millions of American citizens.
b. Danny Whitfield – requested to speak, but was not present at that
time.

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Sherrif Hodges explained to the board and the community that as a
constitutional sheriff, he takes both public safety and individual liberty
seriously. Flock cameras do not change that, while technology can help us
find a kidnapped child, identify a violent offender, recover a stolen vehicle,
or take a dangerous fugitive off our streets. Our office will use it lawfully,
responsibly, and with safeguards in place. We will never trade our
constitutional rights in the name of safety. My position is simple; protect the
constitution, protect the innocent, and relentlessly pursue those who prey
upon our community. The sheriff department has systems such as the NCIC,
the Criminal Justice Portal, Warrant Services, in addition to ALPRs. Those
are tools, those systems do not serve one purpose nor create an opportunity
for officer to arrest someone. It is a tool used to help build a criminal profile
of a potential suspect during an investigation and cultivates into a case
presented to court. Anything that is going to be touched by human hands has
the ability to be manipulated; just like an NCIC check, checking if someone
is wanted, if someone committed a crime, their drivers license history, etc.
All those things can be manipulated just like a check book, driving a car too
fast, driving without a license or suspended license. Our office does have
policies in place that the officers sign when they use those systems and have
to give a reason why they’re looking into something. Those checks and
balances are in place to promote transparency and to make sure things are
done above board. Our office responded to an open records request recently
regarding to Flock cameras, there are 16 (sixteen) cameras in this County
and addresses for where they are located have been provided. Our office
pays $3,000.00 (three thousand dollars) every time a camera is bought and
$3,000.00 (three thousand dollars) a year to renew each camera, those fees
do not come out of a line-item budget, it comes out of an opioid abatement
fund. This is one of the things that helps our undercover drug taskforce unit.
Stated that he has a copy of the contract for anybody who wishes to look at
it, it shows the addresses and locations of the Flock cameras.
XIII.

ADJOURNMENT
Chairman McCarter updated the board there will be quite a few committee
meetings taking place in October, commissioners will be getting notified of
those meetings shortly. The renovation of all the sound system will start in
the next few days in the commission room as well as meeting room 100E. So
that presentations and meetings will go more smoothly. Additionally, there
are several department heads present tonight, the mayor’s office has been
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conducting meetings with the department heads that were approved tonight,
we are all looking forward to what the future holds.
Motion was made by G. Cole, and duly Seconded by K. Woods.
Vote criteria of Majority Vote of Members Present.
Passed by Voice Call Vote 24 Yes, 0 No, 1 Absent.
Chairman McCarter called meeting to a close at 6:38 P.M.

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